Jack Bauer secures an immunity agreement for Bazhaev in exchange for the location of the fuel rods. However, CTU teams find the truck empty and both guards dead, leading Sergei to realize his son has betrayed him.

Jack Bauer prepares Sergei Bazhaev to make a phone call to his son Josef, in the hopes that he can convince him to go along with the immunity agreement. At CTU, Chloe and Hastings confirm that they are ready to start tracing Josef's end of the call.

At the meeting site, Josef answers the call, thinking it's Farhad, and is dismayed to hear his father's voice. Sergei tells him that the authorities have raided the restaurant and arrested him; Jack gets on the line to confirm this story. Josef is initially indifferent to his father's arrest, reminding him that he killed Oleg over a deal when he could have saved his life. However, he begins to reconsider when Jack reveals that Sergei secured immunity for both of them; Sergei urges him to accept the terms and help the government, or else they will hunt him down and kill him. Finally, Josef accepts, just as Samir Mehran shoots and kills him from the rooftop with a sniper rifle. Everyone on the other end of the call hears the shot, and Sergei begins to panic; Chloe reports that the trace came back with a location in Queens near Flushing Meadows Park, and Hastings orders Jack to bring Bazhaev in to CTU.

Over Josef's dropped cell phone, Jack listens as Farhad, Samir and their men approach the truck and find the rods in the back. Farhad says they need to get the rods to the port as soon as they can, but Samir claims that they need a new plan of action now that the authorities are in on the operation. Samir notices the phone lying on the ground and breaks it with his foot. While Jack and the team takes Bazhaev out of the building, Hastings orders Chloe to start working on identifying the voices on the other end of the call.

Jack and Renee talk

12:06:02

Chloe quickly matches one of the voices to Farhad Hassan; the other voice is taking longer. Arlo Glass comes over to tell Hastings that he has a call from Rob Weiss. Before he goes, Hastings asks Chloe for an ETA on Bazhaev, saying that they need to start the interrogation as soon as possible. She relays the request to Jack, who says he will be there in fifteen minutes, but they shouldn't expect to get much more out of Bazhaev. Changing the subject, Chloe says she heard about what Jack went through at the restaurant and asks if he's okay; Jack says he's fine, then asks to speak to Renee in Medical. She puts him through.

Cleaned up and changed, Renee picks up the phone, glad to hear that Jack is alright. He gives her an update on the situation; their line on the fuel rods is gone, and Jack plans to leave for Los Angeles as soon as he delivers Bazhaev to CTU. Jack asks how her debriefing with Chloe went, and reminds her to maintain that Laitanan's death was an act of self-defense. Renee agrees, then, abruptly, asks Jack what he meant before when he said that she "has" him to turn to. "I meant it like it sounded," he replies; Renee looks taken aback, but Jack says they'll figure it out together.

"If you fail, I fail. And that cannot happen."

12:08:42

At the United Nations, Chief of Staff Weiss tells Hastings that he's dissatisfied with how Bazhaev's immunity agreement has played out; the deal has put them no closer to finding the rods, which are now in Farhad's hands. He reminds Hastings that he is Weiss's "guy," the one he pushed to have at the head of the new CTU, and any negative fallout from the botched operation will reflect poorly upon both of them. Weiss insists that they need someone to take the blame, and suggests Renee Walker; she stabbed Vladimir Laitanan fifteen times, and a case could be made that it was murder. Hastings strongly disagrees, saying that Renee is a hero who put herself on the line when she didn't have to, but Weiss ignores his protests. He's sending Kristen Smith from the Department of Justice to start the investigation, and all Hastings needs to do is "open the door and get out of the way."

At the abandoned truck on the Wantagh Parkway, Jim reports to Cole Ortiz that a radiological sweep turned up no hazardous materials on site. Cole tells him to finish up and report back to base, then picks up a call from Arlo Glass. Arlo says he managed to pick up Dana's location from the GPS on her cell phone; he initially suggests that there could be a logical explanation for her absence, but Cole angrily demands that he send the coordinates to him, since Arlo is the one who stuck his nose into their private life. Once he has them, he tells Arlo to cover for him for the next hour, and orders Jim to go with Owen and the other field agents back to CTU.

12:16:05

Dana watches Kevin's van

Dana arrives at Eastwick Park, where she watches from afar while Kevin Wade's van parks by the edge of a marsh. Dana withdraws a handgun from her purse and affixes a silencer to the end, while inside Kevin and Nick Coughlin continue the party with two strippers from Club Starlight.

Brian Hastings meets Kristen Smith

Brian Hastings asks Arlo where Dana Walsh has been, and orders him to track her down and get her back to her post. He then goes over to greet Kristen Smith, the woman Rob Weiss dispatched to interview Renee Walker. Hastings makes it clear that he has serious issues with "hanging a brave woman out to dry," but she assures him that her job is simply to clear up discrepancies between her account and the forensic evidence. She asks him to restrict surveillance access to the interview, but also be prepared to provide a video record for any future court procedures.

Chloe arrives to give Renee a transcript of her statement to sign, but the two are interrupted by the arrival of Hastings with Ms. Smith. Chloe is confused that she needs to talk to Renee, saying that everything was covered in the debriefing, but Hastings orders her to leave Smith and Renee alone for the interview. Outside, Chloe asks to sit in on the session, but Hastings says that there shouldn't be any need, assuming her debrief was completely accurate. He reminds Chloe that there are stolen nuclear materials in play and she needs to get back to work immediately.

12:19:17

Farhad Hassan and Samir Mehran arrive at a warehouse, which Samir says is a staging area that belongs to a businessman who supports their cause. Farhad reiterates that they need to focus on getting the rods out of the country as soon as possible, but Samir again refuses, saying that with the government knowing about the plan, the rods will be detected at any port they try to smuggle them through.

Farhad and Samir arrive at the staging area

Inside the warehouse, Farhad is surprised to see a large group of men already waiting for them, and asks Samir who they are. Samir suggests that he get some rest, but Farhad demands to know what the plan is now that they can't smuggle the uranium back to the IRK. Ali, one of Samir's new recruits, tells him that they are going to use the rods as a weapon against the United States, a radiological bomb. Stunned, Farhad protests that doing so will cause the US to invade their country, but Samir says that the peace treaty will have the same effect, making Kamistan "another corrupt Mideast regime with your brother as dictator, propped up by American guns and money," which is exactly what Farhad was trying to prevent. Finally, he relents; Ali uses a forklift to remove the fuel rods from the back of the truck.

Kristen Smith asks Renee to confirm that she killed Vladimir Laitanan in self-defense, then asks her to clarify her history with Laitanan, which she left out of her statement to Chloe O'Brian. Renee says she was involved in an undercover operation against Laitanan six years go, during which time he attempted to rape her, leaving her with severe injuries including two broken ribs. Smith remarks that Renee was strong enough to fight off his advances, but for some reason she wasn't able to hold her own earlier tonight, when placed in the same situation. Renee reiterates that he had his hands around her neck, and she used the knife against him as a last-ditch effort, but Smith shows her a gruesome photograph of Laitanan's body, saying that a single blow would have stopped him. She asks Renee to draw on her experience as an FBI special investigator—"one of the best they had"—and put herself on the other side of the table; what conclusion would she draw from the evidence at hand? Silently beginning to cry, Renee again whispers that she acted in self-defense, but Smith shares her own interpretation of events: Renee exploited a critical mission to take personal revenge against Vladimir Laitanan without any regard for the final outcome. Renee again insists that Vladimir attacked her first, Smith states that she is "well aware of her history of service and sacrifice in service to this country" but that does not give her the right to risk a mission for personal revenge. She observes that it wouldn't be the first time Renee lost control; she nearly killed Alan Wilson in an illegal interrogation, leading to her dismissal from the FBI. Smith says that she can see how this is tearing Renee apart, and urges her to tell her the truth about what really happened.

Chloe tells Jack about the woman from the Justice Department

12:31:02

Jack Bauer arrives in the tunnel outside CTU, and orders that Sergei Bazhaev be placed in holding and allowed no outside contact. Chloe comes out to tell him that Renee is being questioned by a woman from the Justice Department. Looking worried, Jack asks if she can get a video feed from the room, then says that someone is setting her up to take the fall for the failed operation.

Jack stops the interview

Jack makes his way to the clinic, where a guard attempts to stop him. He quickly knocks the guard down, using his handprint to unlock the door and interrupt Smith's interview. Jack orders Renee to not say another word and incriminate herself, but Renee claims that it's too late. Smith tells him to leave immediately, leading Jack to grab her by the throat and push her up against the wall. He asks how she can do this to a woman who has lost and sacrificed so much, then takes Renee's hand and says that the interview is over. As they try to leave, the guard Jack assaulted points his gun at them and orders them to stand down; Jack simply moves closer and tells him to lower his weapon before he gets hurt. The play seems to work, but once they are outside, another guard gets the jump on him, jamming a stun gun into his back and forcing him to the ground.

12:32:52

Farhad Hassan watches as the fuel rods are removed from their casing, then asks what they will need to turn the rods into a bomb. Samir replies that explosives are not a problem, although the detonator will be more difficult. Farhad replies that he knows a professor in New York City with expertise in electronics who will be willing to help them, but he will have to bring up the subject very carefully. He tells Ali to go with him to the office to call the professor in private.

On the way there, Farhad asks Ali if a target has been decided on, and remarks that there are many good ones to choose from in New York City. Then, unexpectedly, he grabs a wrench from a nearby workbench and attacks Ali with it, knocking him down and then fleeing outside. Marcos observes the struggle and yells to Samir, who comes running with several other men. He orders them outside to track down Farhad.

Security guards escort Jack Bauer into Brian Hastings' office, where they remove his handcuffs and leave the two alone to talk. Jack is disgusted with how CTU is treating Renee, saying that standard procedure is a debrief like the one Chloe completed, not an interview with "some hack from Justice trying to initiate a criminal prosecution." He threatens to call the White House to make sure they know what's going on, but Hastings replies that the order came from Rob Weiss in the first place. Jack may not have any more luck with the President herself, considering that she sent her own daughter to prison for a murder charge. Chloe interrupts, saying that Farhad Hassan is on the line asking to speak to the director.

Injured, hiding behind a rock, Farhad tells Hastings that the men he hired to get the rods out of the country are planning an attack on New York City soon. Hastings asks for their names, but Hassan only reveals that they are operatives from the IRK; he will tell them what he knows if CTU rescues him. Hastings tells him he will do what he can, then puts him on hold. He asks Chloe to pinpoint where Farhad is calling from and tell Cole he will be leading the operation, but Chloe replies that no one knows where Cole is: his team came back without him, and Agent Owen said he left to follow up a lead. Hastings says that Owen will have to lead the team instead; Chloe scoffs at this, but agrees to go tell him. Once she leaves, he tells Jack that he wants him processed out of the building immediately.

Cole confronts Dana Walsh

12:42:15

At Eastwick Park, the two strippers finish dressing and exit the van, telling Kevin that his friend is a "freak show." They turn down his offer of a ride back into town, saying they'll walk instead.

Dana picks up the gun and exits her car, making her way down to the water, when Cole Ortiz pulls up. Cole is furious at her, not only for abandoning her post in the middle of a crisis, but for the supposed affair she has been having behind his back. She insists that he doesn't understand what's going on, and if she leaves now "it" will never end. Once she gets in the car, he notices the van parked by the marsh; he gets in and demands that she tell him what this is about. Slipping into a buried Southern accent, she confesses the truth: her name is not Dana Walsh; it's Jenny Scott.

Samir calls Ali, asking for an update on the search for Farhad. He tells Ali that he and some of the others are leaving with the rods for a secure location, but Ali is to stay until Farhad is found.

Arlo Glass briefs Hastings on the industrial compound in Forest Hills where Farhad Hassan is currently located. Aerial drones are on the way, but won't arrive for another twelve minutes. Hastings walks Agent Owen to the entrance, saying that in Agent Ortiz's absence the responsibility of leading the field team is now his. Owen briefs him on the assault plan: under the assumption that the rods are still in the complex, teams Alpha and Beta will locate and secure the rods, while team Charlie will handle rescuing Farhad himself. It is a standard urban search-and-rescue, although Jack Bauer, still being processed out, scoffs that there's nothing "standard" about it.

Jack Bauer offers Hastings a deal

Hastings follows Jack out to his car, asking if he has something to contribute to the assault plan. Jack points out a number of weak points in the plan: since the rods' handlers already know that their plan was exposed, they're likely to be long gone by the time any teams arrive. In addition, with only one team to rescue Farhad, odds are they will run into resistance and start killing people who have a higher intel value than Farhad himself. Hastings insists that he is fully confident in Owen's ability to complete the mission, but Jack counters that they wouldn't be talking right now if that were true.

Jack offers to take point on the operation to rescue Farhad, but only on one condition: that Hastings drop the investigation against Renee Walker. Hastings initially refuses, saying he can't go against the White House, but Jack reminds him that he used to sit in the same chair that Hastings is sitting in now. As the head of CTU, he says, Hastings has more power than he realizes, especially in a crisis situation, and "the people who last here, the ones who mattered...they knew when to say no." Hastings seems to be convinced, but warns that Jack that if they do this, it won't be for just one more mission anymore; he wants Jack in, "with both feet," until the situation is resolved. "Deal," Jack says, and follows Hastings back into the building.

Dana tells Cole about how she found the NYPD lock-up and helped Kevin and Nick break in. Cole is stunned to realize what Dana has been doing all day, saying that he wouldn't have done this even if he were put in her place. She tries to explain that she was terrified of him and Hastings finding out about her past, and she thought that Kevin would hold up his end of the bargain after she helped him with this one job. Cole notices her hiding something in her hand, and grabs the gun from her, realizing she was planning to murder them. Dana says she was scared, and did what she did because she loves him, but he tells her not to say another word, and gets out of the car.

12:54:37

Cole delivers an ultimatum

Cole walks down to the van with the gun in hand, while Dana begs him to reconsider. He ignores her, and catches Kevin and Nick as they are about to light up a joint. Cole grabs their shotgun after coyly inviting them to try going for it, saying it would be better if he only had to deal with one of them. Dana pleads that they leave, and Kevin sees her, leading him to recognize Cole from the photos in her apartment. Cole says that they have two choices: either they go back to prison for grand larceny and aggravated assault, or they get away with the money they have left and never come back to this city again. Either way, Cole promises that if he ever sees them in the city again, he'll skip the formalities and kill them on the spot. Seemingly convinced, Kevin agrees to the deal, and Cole closes the van door.

Nick goes to a box and pulls out a revolver and a knife, telling Kevin that once Cole is dead, they'll be "back in business" with Dana. Kevin says they have what they came for, and they shouldn't push their luck. He tries to move up to the driver's seat, but Nick grabs him from behind and stabs him in the stomach, then grabs the gun and exits the van.

Dana holds Kevin while he bleeds out

Walking back to the car, Dana thanks Cole for what he did, while Nick silently approaches from behind. Kevin crawls out of the van and yells a warning, leading Nick to open fire on the two of them. Cole swiftly turns and kills Nick with the shotgun, while Dana dashes back to the van and kneels beside Kevin. Already bleeding out, he apologizes and says he never should have come back into her life.

When Samir says that "even a giant can be toppled by a single stone", he is alluding to the Biblical story of David and Goliath in which the giant Goliath was slain in a miraculous attack when David the shepherd boy slung a stone at him.

The music used as Dana Walsh and Cole Ortiz walk back towards the car is the same music used in the Season 1 Finale when Jack decides whether to kill Nina Myers in the garage.

Based on user-ratings from IMDb.com, this is the lowest rated episode of 24 with a rating of 7.9.